Undoubtedly, the name Ken Miles has a special place in the hearts of car lovers and racing enthusiasts. Because he not only became a legendary racing driver, but also took the automobile world one step further thanks to his engineering skills. Let’s get to know Ken Miles closely, who devoted his life to the automobile and racing world and lost his life because of this.
Names such as Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher are some of the legendary names of today’s racing world, but when we go back a little and look at the years when cars were just beginning to develop and races were won not with money, but with wrist power. We come across the name Ken Miles. Without a doubt, Ken Miles has a unique place in the hearts of motorcyclists and racing enthusiasts.
Ken Miles has a special place in the hearts of both car lovers and racing enthusiasts because he wasn’t just a racing driver with a glamorous championship, he was also a master who, thanks to his engineering skills, improved the car he drove and thus the world of automobiles. Unfortunately that track that he was a fan of was where he lost his life. Bride, the legendary name of the racing and automobile world Who is Ken Miles Let’s get to know closely.
A WWII veteran born with engineering skills:
Ken Miles was born on November 1, 1918 in the West Midlands of England. He was a racing fan since childhood. In fact, when he was still a child, he had an accident while riding his 350 cc Trials Special Triumph bike in 1929, breaking his nose and losing three teeth. Miles, who wanted to advance things a little after this accident, started using a 1100 cc Salmson motorcycle by modifying it.
In 1933, at the age of 15, he met his future wife, Mollie, and discovered his engineering skills. While driving an Austin 7 Special that he was diligently working on He got a job as an apprentice at Wolseley Motors. and started to use these skills in the most effective way. Then the Second World War broke out and he joined the British Army.
Ken Miles began his military service as a gunner. He became a sergeant major in 1942 after becoming a driving instructor at Blackpool. Together with the tank division in 1944 He participated in the Normandy Landing. Miles, who did not lose his passion for automobiles even during the war, started working as an engineer at Morris Motors when the war ended and he returned home as a veteran. During this time he got married and had a son.
Ken Miles begins the competition:
Ken Miles, who made a rapid entry into the post-war engineering world, listened to his passion for racing as there were no obstacles in front of him anymore, and for the first time on April 23, 1949. By Frazer Nash, with a car with a V8-powered engine Participated in races at Silverstone. This challenging race opened the doors of the racing world to him.
Miles, who started working at Gough Industries in the United States in 1951, participated in the races with an MG-TD on behalf of this company. After winning his first race in the United States at Pebble Beach, 1953 became his year, and that year he won all races under 1500cc.
Starting to dust the tracks with Ford:
Ken Miles won every race he participated in between 1958 and 1963. A living legend, Miles caught the attention of Carroll Shelby and was hired to test the new model Cobra vehicles. Ford and Ken Miles had finally met. It was remarkable that Miles was a master racing driver, but more importantly, Miles was a skilled engineer.
Ken Miles, who participated in races for Ford and Shelby American in succession, was fighting hard and winning many races. More importantly, with each race, the MK IIB was improving the GT40 a bit more. In the end, Ken Miles was the winner of Le Mans, one of the most important races in the world, which lasted for 24 hours in 1966.
A life dedicated to the track and ended there:
After the Le Mans win, everyone’s eyes were now much higher. After MK IIB GT40 model Ford who wants to try something different, He started a project called J-Car. Of course, the chief engineer of the project was star name Ken Miles. Ken Miles took the J-Car for a test drive on August 18, 1966.
Miles accelerated to 320 km/h while testing the J-Car at the Riverside circuit in California. That’s when something went wrong. The car overturned. He flipped over and over. The driver was already thrown out of the car on the third roll. J-Car caught fire. Ken Miles’ body was lying on the Riverside track. Ford said the accident was caused by a mechanical failure. Hundreds of people attended Ken Miles’ funeral, including his most arch rivals.
Ken Miles’ life is described in the movie Ford v Ferrari:
At the time Ken Miles worked with Ford and developed the GT 40, their biggest rival was the Ferrari company. Before winning the Le Mans races in 1966 and seizing the throne Between Ford and Ferrari There was fierce competition from time to time. The 2019 Ford v Ferrari movie describes this cutthroat competition.
One of the legendary names of the automobile and racing world, Who is Ken Miles We answered the question and talked about what you need to know about this legendary name. You can share other legends you know in the comments, such as Ken Miles, in the world of cars and racing.